Observing the Non-existence
by NekuSakuraba101
Summary: "In all reality, he was too full of himself to actually acknowledge the existence of Kido Tsubomi. No one else seemed to, so why should he?" Kano's perceptive of Existence Like Air.


**This is about as close to a continuation to _Existence Like Air_ as I am going to give. I shouldn't have written this, but I am anyway.**

* * *

Kano Shuuya was just like the any other normal high school student.

Shuuya considered himself hilarious and a likable person, though some felt they could argue that. He could be considered "popular" in retrospect, but there were really only a few friends he felt a bond enough with to truly confide in. He was a tease, and class clown, always invading the personal space of boys and girls alike. But no one ever really complained. Other than the occasional jibe to a fellow classmate or maybe falling asleep during the middle of a lecture, Shuuya was very reserved in class, which was probably why he'd first noticed _her. _

In all reality, he was too full of himself to actually acknowledge the existence of Kido Tsubomi. No one else seemed to, so why should he? But when he finally did notice that one face in the sea of the other million around him, he didn't think much of her. She was just a girl that sat a few rows and seats ahead of him. She came to class every day and left every day at the same time. She was just so... normal, so routine. Nothing really stood out about her at all, except maybe the color of her hair. And in his opinion, she was too pale, too skinny, too quiet, too smart, and even too boring for someone like him.

These had been facts Shuuya had convinced himself of for months, but one day he found himself so bored in class that he decided to do some people watching. It was in that moment that his eyes fell onto Tsubomi once again. He noted that her hair seemed longer than the last time he'd observed her, and also that she wasn't as skinny as he'd thought before, just slim and fairly portioned in her figure. In the back of his mind, he had an urge to see more than just the back of her head.

After class ended he subtly looked back over at Tsubomi. The classroom was empty now and he gathered his books up in his bag and walked past her desk. His fleeting glance was met briefly by dark, intelligent eyes before the crowded hallway outside cut off his view. It was after that that Shuuya decided he'd get to know this invisible girl better.

Naturally, one would assume Shuuya could do this just by approaching and talking to her, but (and he wouldn't admit this), deep down, he was nervous. Even though he'd suddenly found this girl interesting, there wasn't much about her that seemed relatively inviting. But, he was a coward really.

She never talked either. He could already tell from experience that Tsubomi was personally a quiet person. Shuuya could tell, though that she was trying to talk at lunch one day. She approached someone from their class and tried to talk to them. He watched all this unfold and couldn't help but secretly wish it was him she'd decided to talk to. Even from his spot a ways away, he could see it hadn't went well and Tsubomi walked away with her head seeming to hang a little lower.

Weeks passed, and Shuuya soon found himself becoming worried about his fellow classmate. Before all her actions seemed determined, and she'd radiated independence and pride in her work. But now she seemed to be dragging in her actions, like a walking corpse. Her shoulders drooped and her head seemed to slump to the side ever so slightly. She seemed defeated.

A spark he'd never really noticed was there had suddenly gone out; you never really knew a good thing until it was gone. Her test weren't handled with the same care they once were. Instead they now got stuffed into her bag without a second thought. Despite this change he saw, her grades and test scores continued to remain at their highest. Shuuya had to admit she was smart. In spite of her change she gave no one watching any reason to suspect or worry that she had given up.

Shuuya decided to do something. He didn't think he could let this go on. Seeing her so lonely was heartbreaking.

So he waited for a day when everyone but Tsubomi was out of the classroom. They'd gotten the last test back today. Tsubomi had, as always, gotten a perfect score of 100, and he, an average score of 77. What a lovely topic of conversation.

With his own test paper in hand he got up to where Tsubomi still hadn't moved from her desk. She didn't seem to notice as he sat in the desk behind her, elbows propped up on the surface of the desk, smiling at the back of her head.

"Hey, you got 100%, that's pretty cool." he said leaning more to her ear so she could hear, but Shuuya backed up as Tsubomi's head whipped around, causing her green hair to slap him in the face. He blinked after only to realize Tsubomi was staring at him. Her dark eyes were weary and frightened, as if she couldn't believe he was talking to her and it also scared her.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" he asked and made a grin break out across his face to try and seem friendly, though with his features it might not have appeared friendly. But Tsubomi didn't respond.

"You're not much of a talker, are you?" Shuuya pressed on after a moment. The question was useless though for he already knew the answer. "Well that's okay; I'm not much of a listener myself."

After that he found himself rambling on about grades and test scores. It ultimately ended with him practically forcing her to tutor him. What could he saw? He never was good at making friends. Their "conversation" was then interrupted by Shuuya's phone going off.

"Well, I gotta go now." he said as he slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way to the door. Looking back, he met the bewildered girl's gaze dead on. "It was nice talking to you, you're actually really cute when you don't look all depressed and stuff. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Tsubomi-chan~" Shuuya called before he rushed out the door.

When he made it out, he tried to figure out why his heart was beating so fast and why on earth had he said that?

_Obviously because I was trying to cheer her up. _He said to himself.

But still, Shuuya couldn't help laughing. Would he ever learn? At least now he had an excuse to talk to her tomorrow.


End file.
